How can I make eLearning resources accessible?
When you’re new to eLearning accessibility, it can feel overwhelming. There seem to be so many things you need to do to make eLearning resources accessible. On this page we explain how this site can help. We also give you links to our instructions and examples, grouped according to the visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments they support.
“When UX doesn’t consider ALL users, shouldn’t it be known as ‘Some User eXperience’ or SUX?”
Billy Gregory
eLaHub video explainer
How to use eLaHub.net to make your eLearning resources accessible
- Our examples include Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 A, AA and AAA standards, WCAG recommendations and also suggestions from other sources e.g. GOV.UK.
- For each example, we have created an instruction page which translates the guideline or recommendation into plain English. It also gives practical demonstrations using rapid eLearning authoring tools.
- You can also access our instruction pages from the site header, or the icons on the home page. These are grouped into 3 categories, WCAG Level A, WCAG Level AA, and Advisory.
eLearning accessibility standards for different types of impairments
One way to make accessibility standards easier to work with is to consider how they can help people with different types of impairments. While many of the standards are beneficial to people with a range of different disabilities, the list below groups them according to the main impairment they support.
Select the links below for instructions, examples and further resources.
Visual impairments
- Add alternative text to all visual elements.
- Provide transcripts and audio description for videos.
- Ensure meaning is not conveyed by colour alone e.g. green for correct and red for incorrect.
- Ensure high contrast text, visuals, and navigation items.
- Ensure learners can enlarge text up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
- Make it easy for learners to navigate using a screen reader e.g. use header styles.
- Ensure that your content follows a logical structure for screen reader users.
Hearing impairments
- Provide captions for videos.
- Provide transcripts for audio and video resources.
- Allow learners to stop audio, or control the volume.
- Avoid background audio behind speech in video or audio tracks.
- Avoid audio only instructions or warnings (e.g. if a question is answered incorrectly).
Motor impairments
- Make sure that learners can use your resource without using a mouse, only a keyboard.
- Allow learners enough time to complete tasks or do not set time limits.
- Use inclusive instructions e.g. select instead of click.
Cognitive differences
- Explain any complex vocabulary or abbreviations.
- Use clear and consistent navigation.
- Allow learners to pause, stop or hide any moving elements.
- Do not include any content which flashes more than three times per second.
- Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for the context.
eLaHub example rapid authoring tools
For our examples, we have chosen three rapid authoring tools which show different approaches to eLearning authoring.
- Articulate Storyline
- Trivantis Lectora
- CourseArc
eLaHub examples are not endorsements of these tools. They are just the clearest way, we could demonstrate how to meet the standards and recommendations which we give.
We want eLaHub to help as many eLearning professionals, using as many different rapid authoring tools as possible. If you have any examples using a different tool which you would like us to include, please contact us.
Disclaimer
The instructions we give, are our interpretations of a selection of the WCAG 2.1 standards and other accessibility recommendations. To make sure you meet all WCAG legal requirements, please refer to the full W3C WCAG 2.1 guidelines.
Each of our instruction pages is currently in a Beta state. We have asked for suggestions and recommendations from other eLearning professionals. We are happy to make any changes, in order to improve them for everyone in the eLearning community.
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